Суть розробки, основні результати:

The tumulus near the village of Popivka on the Sula river was excavated by S. Mazaraki at the end of
the 19th century. The materials were published by Head of Imperial Archaeological Commission
O. Bobrynsky. Today one part of them is lost or tangled, and another part remains in NMHU.
Unusual is the presence of 210 plates, a unique occurrence in the Scythian culture. Most of them look
have the shape of a polished outside, oblong flat rectangular plate with two holes on both ends. Also there
are several plates with one rounded end and three holes on the other ends, or more openings on the
perimeter. For the accompanying inventory, part of which is available for study (a three-hole iron
cheekpiece, two iron tops, a big pot, two little pots) and the inventory given by O. Bobrynsky (a blade /
rod, a sword, an ax, a spearhead), the burial dates back to the early Scythian period.
Today we have two main versions about the functional application of the bone plates. The first involves
the use of the plates as protective armor for a warrior. It is based on the finds of bone flakes in Romny
district. But they are all identical armored scales, which are made of the metal and are the same size. The
second version involves the use of these plates as overlays on a composite shield.
Search analogies (in a rich warrior burial complex of the 3rd–2nd centuries BC near the Irtysh river in
Siberia (Sargatska culture) documented a leather shield sewn with bone plates), and the analysis of the
circumstances of the placement of plates (it was located near the hand, partially blocking the chest) leads
us to the second version.
Another task we set for ourselves was a graphic reconstruction of the shield. Taking the example of
full-scale reconstruction of the Scythian warriors’ armor from the burial near the Hladkivschyna village
in Cherkasy region, we concluded that the area of the shield from Popivka was about 0.335 m², and it
could cover a half of the silhouette of the warrior, where the plates were used as an additional external
reinforcement, slightly curved rectangular with a rounded wooden shield covered with leather for
protection from enemy arrows.